Sabotage at the transformer station near Jaenschwalde - police neutralize rocket launchers

According to the newspaper, which spoke to sources in security circles, the police found several rocket launchers with explosive charges at the site and neutralized them. In addition, the daily has a photo that purports to show such a device of unclear, probably home-made construction.

The MAZ daily indicated that the transformer station was hit more than once. The alleged result of the attack was a widespread power outage at the Jaenschwalde coal-fired power plant. German media write about a possible attack on the power plant.

A spokesman for the power plant operator, Leag, said that none of the company's employees were injured. The investigation into this case was taken over by the Brandenburg Criminal Office (LKA).

An act of sabotage

Planting the explosives was an act of sabotage, said Brandenburg's Interior Minister Jan Redmann on Tuesday.

During a visit to the scene, Redmann said that the perpetrators tried to introduce "conductive material into the highest voltage lines" using explosives. In a few cases they succeeded, he said.

According to the head of the state's Interior Ministry, the perpetrators' goal was to destabilize the power grid and energy supplies, which - he noted - failed. According to him, Brandenburg "came out unscathed" given the number of devices found and the fact that there was no power outage.

There is no information yet on the perpetrators' motive. The search for more explosives is still ongoing.

One of the blocks failed

The power plant operator, Leag, reported that as a result of the attack on the transformer station, the 500-megawatt B unit failed and turned off automatically. The transmission network operator informed about a short-term power outage, but assured that all lines were now operational.

The last power plant of the GDR

At the Preilack transformer station in the Spree-Neisse district, near the border of Brandenburg with Saxony and about 20 km from the border with Poland, the electricity generated by the Jannschwalde power plant is distributed supra-regionally and regionally. The power plant was built between 1976 and 1989 as the last newly built power plant in the GDR.